1,000 Years of Hindu Colonial Trauma

(presentation video series)

Welcome to this series!

I spent 4 years working on this project, researching this history and grieving over what I found. Some facts I already knew, while others were a shock. I spent much time dwelling on how I could possibly speak out loud these brutal truths with you. At the same time I knew that I must speak these truths if we are to have any hope for collective liberation. Now, 4 years later, I’m ready to show this presentation series to you…

Community Responses

You need to understand us

We Hindus - a 1.2 billion population worldwide - are on the frontlines of climate change and mass extinction. We have much wisdom and lived experience to share with the world. We also have much trauma that we need to heal from and dismantle. In order to learn from us and be in solidarity with us and aid in our healing, you need to understand us.

Check out what other community members said when they watched the series.

"I was deeply moved and affected by this video series and carry the knowledge and continue to integrate it as I walk my path."

— R
"Zarna shared painful histories I hadn't known and opened my eyes to ongoing Hinduphobia and anti-Hinduism. Now I regularly see it in the media and, thanks to Zarna, I can see through the dominant narratives with the narratives of the oppressed. So much research and heart went into this series... It's a tremendous resource."

— N
"This is one of the most impactful and important things I’ve ever watched."

— A
"The caste system video was mind blowing.[ ...] I work in community development and know a lot about the impact of colonialism and slavery on Black folks in America but didn't know the same for my country."

— K
"The research and presentation of evidence and facts in this is astonishing. This is decolonisation in its truest sense. It's heartbreaking, traumatic, inspiring and enlightening all at the same time. This is a big step in our People healing."

— R
"It was so powerful and really life-changing for me [to] see things from a completely different perspective, correcting things I had learned along the way, filling in gaps of things that I had wondered about, and giving me steps to becoming a better ally to Hindus [...]"

— C
"I plan to show this to my kids when they’re teens and can contextualize and emotionally handle what’s presented, because this kind of education is not available elsewhere."

— A
"[...] an awakening experience that evoked feelings of compassion, outrage, and revelation – Compassion and outrage for the history and reality of the Hindu peoples and a revelation of my complicity and participation in perpetuating colonial narratives and violence."

— T
"Getting to know the history of India from a perspective that's not from the colonizer, for the first time ever."

— J
"When they say you don’t know what you don’t know, watching the 1000+ years of Colonial Hindu Trauma documentary was exactly how I felt. I spend most days learning about social injustices and oppression, but I didn’t realize how much of this documentary was going to be new to me (nearly all of it.) It filled in many gaps from US & global “history” classes I’ve attended before and helped me understand how supremacy mindsets utilize different tactics to control different identities."

— S
“I was stopped in my tracks.”

— J
"[...] very educational and inspiring. I’ll recommend it to my friends [...] "

— A
"As a Hindu, it makes me want to be a voice for Sanatan Dharma values that bring peace, prosperity and stability to society for the flourishing of art, philosophy and beauty in the world."

— C
"It absolutely helped me develop a lens sensitive to the Hindu experience, so that I can now be more open to seeing and hearing information, interactions, and more with a new level of curiosity (so that I may continue to learn more), empathy, and desire to support Hindu people."

— G
“Very meaningful. I will need to reexamine a lot of my assumptions[…]”

— S
"It's inspiring to me to see how resilient India has been despite the many genocides and attempts to destroy its culture and society."

— J
"This gives me more context for the power dynamics I navigate in USA culture."

— K
“Thank you, thank you, thank you....I recognize the love and service you've given with this series.”

— J
"“I have always strived to be a better person and will never see the world quite the same again. I'm now seeing Hinduphobia everywhere and I'm rethinking my critique of organized religions in general.”

— S
“Thank you for lifting the curtain. Its mind-blowing just how far the Empire can go to fool us.”

— J
"We are fed a narrative that colonialism is to 'help' other countries become 'civilized' but in reality it's a horrific, violent act of control."

— K
"There was illumination. It felt...not sure how to describe it, but the last episode seemed like such an ideal closing. A gentle yet strong assurance to continue the work."

— J
“I wish I had learned this information in high school or at least college.”

— S

When you watch this series you will see how the Hindu struggle connects to all other liberation struggles.

"I didn't know how much I didn't know." - Community member

This is a series of 8 episodes and I urge you to watch all of them.*

Each segment contains vital information that will help us all move closer to collective liberation together.

*Please check out the resources list at the end of each video for further study.

8 Episodes: Released July and August 2021

Episode 1 (59 mins): Hindus before Colonization.

Episode 2 (91 mins): Colonizers enter India.

Episode 3 (97 mins): Caste and Supremacy.

Episode 4 (91 mins): Psychological Warfare.

Episode 5 (85 mins): Independence.

Episode 6 (52 mins): 1000+ and Counting.

Episode 7 (64 mins): Hindus outside India.

Episode 8 (46 mins): What you can do.

Accessibility

This presentation series is in English. There is an English closed caption option on each video which you can turn on or off. I am still working to include other language closed captions.

View the Series

As a low income community organizer, I survive on a shoestring budget. Any contribution from you to the making of this presentation series will help me bring this information to more people. I’m offering a sliding scale, select “contribute and view” and you’ll see the sliding scale options.

If you’re unable to financially contribute, select the option to “request sponsorship”.

Thank you for being here. It means so much to me.